Date of Award
Spring 5-2011
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
EVMS School of Health Professions
Program/Concentration
Art Therapy & Counseling
Committee Director
Sarah Deaver
Committee Member
Elizabeth Dukes
Abstract
Children’s human figure drawings (HFDs), known as one of the most widely used drawing assessment techniques, reflect various aspects of understanding children and some studies indicate that children’s HFDs are affected by cultural and environmental factors. Yet, the data collected are out of date or the studies predominantly included children from Western cultures. The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural impact on children’s HFDs from a non-western culture to promote a cross-cultural perspective in the field of art therapy.
In this quantitative study, 23 HFDs were collected in an elementary school setting in South Korea. Drawings were scored using the five modified FEATS scales: Color Prominence, Color Fit, Space, Developmental Level, and Details of Objects and Environment. The scores on the drawings by Korean children were compared to those of American children from the Eastern Virginia Medical School art therapy program database. The scores were analyzed statistically for differences between the two groups on gender, ethnicity, and scale scores. The results showed significant differences between Korean children’s HFDs and those of American children on Scale III and V.
The results were discussed in terms of children’s way of expressing themselves, self-esteem, and satisfaction toward the environment, impact of language use, cultural norms, education system, Confucianism culture, traditional Korean art style, exposure to media, and children’s contemporary artistic culture. In addition, scores on Scale IV suggested that measuring children’s drawing development using the modified FEATS may not be applicable in every culture.
Rights
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DOI
10.25777/y2zm-ze23
Recommended Citation
Lee, Suhyun T..
"A Cross-Cultural Study of Korean and American Children’s Human Figure Drawings"
(2011). Master of Science (MS), Thesis, EVMS School of Health Professions, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/y2zm-ze23
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/evmshealthprofessions_etds/95